Love By Accident
by pottermalfoy24
Summary: Potions work is very delicate. Just one wrong move can create the most amazing effects, including things no one would ever think of. HD Slash. UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J K Rowling. I'm making no money from borrowing her characters. _

A/N: I've never written slash of any kind before, so be patient with me. I've noticed that there are some very excellent Harry/Draco fics out there, and in those quality works, I find that they make a very interesting and dynamic pair. So I decided to actually throw in my two cents worth and give it a go. So here's the rules, kiddies. This thing is rated R for a reason. If you're under sixteen, at least here in the States, you would not be allowed to go to an R rated movie by yourself, so please do the world a favor and stay out of this story. If homosexuality offends you, what are you doing even clicking on this story? And while constructive criticism is welcome, if you flame me, you will discover the delights of the Cruciatus Curse, and then I will delete your review. 

Warnings: Slash, mpreg, language. 

Enjoy! 

* * *

Harry was being very careful. He knew that if anything went wrong with this particular potion, it could produce some very nasty effects. If done correctly, it was supposed to hide the use of magic from the snooper spells that the Ministry placed on all the student's wands. He was worried that Voldemort would use the damned thing to track him. But so many things could go wrong with it. That was why he didn't notice it when several Slytherins came into the Potions lab. 

Draco was at the head of the group. They were all fairly quiet, and Malfoy shushed them as he noticed that the room was not empty. He watched as the "Golden Boy of Gryphindor" brewed a highly illegal shielding potion, and with a skill that he never had the chance to demonstrate in class with Snape determined to make him look like an idiot. Draco had always known that Potter was not as dumb in that area as he pretended. The boy always passed, despite Snape's best efforts, so he assumed that he was hiding his skill from the Professor just to keep what peace he could. 

Malfoy waited until Potter's hands were clear of the cauldron, knowing some of the things that could go wrong with that potion, then said, "Well, well, Potter. Not bad. I didn't think you had the brains for something that complex." 

Harry stiffened at the backhanded compliment, but he said nothing. There was one more ingredient to add, and the Slytherins being there was going to make this a lot harder. He looked at his golden-haired nemesis, gauging the honesty of that comment, and was relieved to note a tiny bit of respect in the gaze that was returned to him. "Thanks, I think. Are you going to let me finish it?" 

Draco considered. "Depends. Why are you doing it?" 

"Voldemort." 

Draco nodded. Yes, the Dark Lord _would_ be able to tap into the Ministry's tracking spells. This was a very good idea. "Go on then. But we should all get some of it as well, just for recompense." 

Harry grinned. "No problem. There should be plenty to go around." Ignoring Draco's raised eyebrow at his lack of displeasure, Harry took the final ingredient off the shelf and returned to the simmering cauldron. He carefully measured out the correct amount of wormwood extract to pour into the mix. He knew that this was the trickiest part. Too little and the shield would have holes in it. Too much and you generally didn't survive the results. In fact, no one had ever survived them. 

Obviously, however, Crabbe was ignorant of that fact. The idiot only passed potions half the time and all he could see was an opportunity to pull a prank and make Potter look like a fool. He walked around behind the concentrating student and "accidentally" nudged him in the back. This caused him to drop the _entire bottle_ into the cauldron! With a curse, Harry shouted "Run for it!" 

No one questioned the order with the panic in his voice. With the glass surrounding most of the wormwood extract, they had a few seconds to get the hell out of the room before it blew. But it wasn't quite enough. All but Harry and Draco got out of the room in time, but just as they reached the door, the cauldron exploded, sending scarlet flame and blue-white shards of energy out in a shockwave that slammed into the two sixteen-year-olds and rocked the old castle that was Hogwarts on its foundations. 

* * *

Harry woke up with pain lancing all down his back and through his abdomen. The last thing he remembered was throwing himself over Draco Malfoy in an instinctively protective gesture before the world went black. At the beginning of the year, he'd forced a talk with the Slytherin and they had reached a shaky truce, both agreeing that with Voldemort on the horizon, neither wanted nor needed another enemy to distract them. They had agreed to leave each other alone, and that was all, but with their energy focused on other things, they had both found the time to discover qualities about the other that had led to Harry and Draco respecting each other. It was a condition that shocked the hell out of both sets of friends, but Hermione, Ron, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy had all been told to back off. They weren't the best of friends, but neither were they enemies any longer, and neither would hear the other denigrated. 

Harry could hear an argument going on in the room beyond his cubicle. It was Snape and Draco. "Look, Professor, it wasn't Potter's fault. Crabbe knocked into him and he dropped the bottle. I was watching, and Potter had the correct amount measured. If that prat hadn't been so stupid and had thought more about what was going on than embarrassing Gryphindor, then none of this would have happened!" 

Snape did not sound pleased. "Are you telling me that Harry Potter actually has the skill to produce a shielding potion of that strength!?" 

"Yes, I am. And he also knew what could go wrong. He immediately told us to get the hell out of that room, and he threw himself on me when it looked like we weren't getting out of there. The bastard saved my life, and I won't have him harangued for it!" 

"The potion is illegal..." 

"Yes, but he had damned good reason. You know that Voldemort has people in the Ministry. If he can get at the tracking spells, then he'll be able to locate Potter any time he uses his wand." 

Snape was quiet for a moment, thinking about what had been said. "I never thought I'd hear you defending him." 

Draco snorted. "Neither did I, I assure you. But he was doing nothing wrong." 

"Fine. I won't give him detention. But he'd better ask next time!" 

Harry shook his head in amazement, then immediately wished he hadn't. Pain shot through him and a groan escaped his lips. Draco peeked around the curtain to see about the noise, then turned back around and told Snape that Harry was awake. 

"Stay with him, then. I'll go get Pomfrey." 

Draco stepped behind the curtain of the cubicle where Harry could see him. "Well, Potter, it would seem that your luck has held out once again. We both should have died tonight." 

Harry refrained from nodding, not wanting to set off another painful spasm. "I don't know why it didn't kill us. I think I want to run some calculations once I'm not feeling quite so much like I was run over by a damned train." 

Draco smirked at him. "I could bring a speaking slate in here if you want." The boards had been invented by Hermione so that those who were without the use of their hands or who were otherwise incapacitated could still do their homework. 

Harry grinned. "That would be great." 

* * *

_Well, that's the first chapter. I hope it passes muster. Oh, and the R rating won't really come into effect until much later in the story. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: See chapter 1. _

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed my story! It's very encouraging. 

* * *

Harry had worked every calculation he could find on the shield potion, and he still couldn't figure out why the damned thing hadn't killed him and Draco. He would have just counted his blessings, but he knew that there could be consequences that hadn't yet made themselves known. 

Hermione came in just then and saw what he was working on. "Figure it out yet?" 

"No. Has anything happened to the room or the vegetation outside where the wall blew out?" He was missing something, he just knew it. 

Hermione frowned. "Now that you mention it, all of the plants on that side of the building have been seeding off like crazy. It's not really in season for any of them either." 

Harry blanched. "The bottle!" Fear gripped him as that last missing ingredient hit him like a freight train. "It's not just the extra wormwood, it's the silicone from the glass bottle." He turned to his slate and said, "Add silicone weight of bottle containing extra wormwood extract." The slate responded, adding the appropriate figures and then printing the product of those calculations. 

Harry didn't like what the numbers were telling him, and neither did Hermione. "Oh, Harry!" 

Harry shook his head, his stomach doing flips at the thought of what had probably happened. "Go get Madame Pomfrey, 'Mione. And then you'd probably better get Dumbledore and Snape. And Malfoy." She nodded and left. 

Harry watched her run out of the room, then leaned back into his pillows, his hand going to his abdomen. He had been in the infirmary for just a week, so there wouldn't have been any changes just yet that he would be able to detect by feel, but the motion was almost instinctive. The thought of what his calculations told him was possible was terrifying, but it also brought him a sense of happiness, strangely enough. And he knew, no matter what answer Madam Pomfrey gave him, it was going to be a very emotional day. 

* * *

The three adults were shocked at the conclusions that Harry had come up with. Draco just looked at him, frozen, a thousand emotions flitting across his face. "Tell me I'm wrong, Professor Snape. Please tell me I've done something wrong in those calculations." 

Snape's eyebrow went up at that, but he still went over the equations with a fine-toothed comb. He sighed and looked up. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter. If I had given you this as an assignment, you'd have gotten a perfect score. Good work." Any other time, Harry would have been pleased as anything to have gotten such a compliment from the Potions Master, but since this was only confirming his fears, he merely sighed resignedly. 

Madam Pomfrey approached her patient and took out her wand. "_Experior gravida._" A light green aura enveloped Harry and slowly concentrated itself around his lower abdomen. There it swirled for a moment, until it finally turned bright blue. "Well, that's conclusive, I'm afraid. You're pregnant, Mr. Potter." She turned around. "Mr. Malfoy, I need to check you as well. Just stand still. _Experior gravida._" The same light green aura developed around Draco, but when it coalesced, it turned red. "You're not pregnant. I'm going to guess that this is because Mr. Potter shielded you. However, I am completely certain that with the effects of this potion, you are the other father of Mr. Potter's child." 

"But, how...?" To say that Draco was confused would be an understatement. 

Dumbledore was the first to speak. "Well, this is quite an interesting development, isn't it?" 

Snape explained. "Because of the way the potion interacted with the silicone in the glass of the bottle, it caused carriage in every living thing it encountered. Luckily it wasn't very pervasive, or the entire school would be in jeopardy, but as it is, only Potter and the plant-life just outside the laboratory were affected. You, Draco, would also have become gravid if the potion had touched you, but the reason Harry's child is also yours is because _he_ was touching you. That contact allowed the DNA to be transferred. If you hadn't been there, either the child would be a clone or he would not be pregnant. I'm not really sure which." He sighed. "And the point is rather academic." 

Draco moved to one of the other cots so he could sit down. He was going to be a father! And with Harry Potter, no less! Sure, he and Harry had buried the hatchet, but there was no way that his father was going to be happy with this. Of course, with Lucius being in Azkaban, there wouldn't be too much trouble from that angle. His mother, however, was another story. He didn't know what she would do, but it couldn't be good. 

Harry's thoughts were similar. There was no way he could allow himself to be sent back to the Dursleys this year, not with a baby in tow. No way was he going to allow a child of his to be exposed to his mother's Muggle relatives and their hatred of all things magical. And the worst thought of all was that he had to find a way to keep the child's existence a secret from Voldemort. The Dark Lord would have absolutely no problem with using his baby against him or with killing it. A fierce feeling of protectiveness washed over him and he silently swore that nothing was going to harm his baby. 

Dumbledore broke the silence. "We can discuss the future at a later date. I think we should allow Harry to rest for now. Your school work will be brought to you this afternoon so that you don't fall behind." And with that everyone left the room except Draco. 

Draco said, "Thank you, P-Harry." It seemed odd to call him by his last name when he was carrying his child. "Thank you for protecting me. I doubt we could handle the both of us being pregnant." He paused, gathering his thoughts through the strange emotions that clouded his mind. "I- I want to be a part of this child's life. I know neither of us asked for this to happen, but--." 

Harry stopped him. "That's all right Draco. I was actually hoping that you would want to be around to help. We won't even be out of school when the baby's born. There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Dumbledore at the moment. I'm knackered, and I think I'd like to take a nap." 

Draco smiled, a genuine smile rather than his customary smirk. "I'll leave you to it, then." He turned to go, but Harry took his hand for just a moment. They looked into each other's eyes for that brief instant, and then Draco left Harry to his thoughts. _I wish..._ Harry's exhaustion caught up to him, and as he slept, dreams of a little tow-headed child with green eyes keeping him company. 

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Madame Pomfrey worked out a diet for Harry, nothing strict, but that made sure both he and the baby were getting adequate nutrition. In particular, she added a lot of dairy products and uncooked spinach to his diet, the one for calcium and the other for folic acid, both of which were necessary for the baby's development. That was just fine by him. He enjoyed a baby-spinach salad with cheddar cheese grated all over it, and he loved most dairy products. He was infinitely grateful that this whole debacle had occurred so close to the beginning of the year or nutrition would have become a problem. 

Very few people were told about Harry's pregnancy. The teachers had to know, as some aspects of magic working could harm the developing baby and there was no telling what might go wrong in a male pregnancy, and Ron and Ginny Weasly were told out of friendship, but no one else was allowed to know. If questions came up, they all just said it was a medical problem that was likely to last the whole year. There was too great a risk that, should Harry's pregnancy become public knowledge, Voldemort would not choose this moment to strike. 

Hermione started coming up with strategies for the present and the future. Even Dumbledore agreed that there was no way Harry could stay with the Dursleys any longer. Something much more defensible was going to be required until Voldemort could be stopped. Harry wanted to be close to Hogwarts so that he could evacuate to the castle if anything went seriously wrong. And Draco insisted on being in on all of these plans. Harry was glad, but more than once he'd had to knock Ron Weasly over the head for bad-mouthing the blonde Slytherin. His doing it saved Ron some severe hexes, but the fiery red-head didn't often see it that way. Things began to get strained between the two of them, until Hermione was ready to strangle Ron, but that had happened so often over the years that they were starting to get used to it. 

Meanwhile, they kept Harry's condition a secret by developing a very subtle set of glamours, which were spells that changed the appearance without the use of Polyjuice Potion, a concoction which would surely kill the baby. The spells didn't change the way Harry looked. They merely hid the changes he was going through from prying eyes. 

As Halloween approached, Harry found his emotions had started going all over the place. He had all the same worries as any teen mother, like the fact that he was still just a child himself, so how was he going to be able to raise one? And how would he support the two of them? Sure he had all the money in his parents' vault at Gringott's, but it wouldn't last forever, and it was somewhat depleted from buying school supplies over the years. He was going to have to get a job right out of school, and that would take away from the time he would have to spend with his child. Plus there were day care issues and the fact that he was going to be doing this alone. Oh, sure, Hermione and the Weasly family would all be there for him, but it wouldn't be the same as having another person there to help him all the time, someone who would love the child just as much as he and who would be able to give him emotional support. He needed a partner, but there was no one who could be that for him. 

The night that all these things came crashing down on him was Halloween. This was supposed to be a joyous time of the year, but all Harry could see was his future going up in bright red smoke. He didn't go to the feast, electing instead to hide in the library. As his thoughts caused him to break down and cry, he was only thankful that there was no one around to witness it. He didn't notice the pair of silver eyes watching him through the stacks. 

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	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. _

A/N: In this chapter, we're going to have a moment_, but we're not going to go beyond that just yet. I want this thing between Harry and Draco to build gradually. It doesn't happen all at once in real life, not if it's going to last, and I'd like to bring as much RL into the story as I can. Doesn't mean I'll be successful, but hey. _

I've fixed the spelling problems in the first two chapters, and I actually used my spell checker on this one. And I believe someone commented on the word "gravid." It's sometimes used in scientific circles, and I tend to see Snape as a scientific person. 

And I want to thank everyone who reviewed! I couldn't believe how much response this has gotten so quickly! And you're all so nice, too! Anyway, on with the story! 

* * *

Draco watched as Harry sat curled up in the reading chair by the library's fire place, crying. Somehow, he doubted that it would have happened if Harry hadn't been alone. He was too good at hiding his feelings from those around him. But he knew without a doubt that Harry Potter was in pain. 

Draco had known for two years what his true feelings were toward Gryphindor's hero. But he was certain that those feelings were not returned, and he knew that he had only himself to blame. After all, why would Harry have those kinds of thoughts about him when all he did was torment the other boy? He'd done it in the beginning because of his father, but as he'd grown to know more about Harry, he'd continued to do it in order to hide his true feelings from himself, and then from Harry. And then this year, on the very first day of school, Harry had approached Draco after the sorting feast. He remembered it clearly. 

_"Malfoy, I need to ask you something." _

"What is it, Potter? Can't be satisfied with our everyday rivalry, so you have to come after me in private?" 

"Actually I can't be satisfied with the way things are going. I'd really rather not be your enemy, Malfoy. I can honestly only afford the one, and I need to concentrate on protecting myself and my friends from him. I'd wager that you have problems enough, as well. I'm proposing we leave each other alone this year. So I have to ask, even if you can't forgive me for landing your father in Azkaban, can you leave me alone about it until after Voldemort is no longer a threat?" 

Draco had marveled that Harry hadn't even considered that he would be joining the Death Eaters. He'd said that Draco didn't seem the type to want to be controlled by anyone, even Voldemort. No matter what the political side of things was, Draco Malfoy was nobody's lackey! He had grinned at his nemesis and agreed to leave him alone until the Dark Lord had fallen. Neither brought up the fact that, if Voldemort won, the point would be moot. Draco wouldn't be able to go after Harry then because he would be dead. 

Two weeks later, the accident had happened, and now it was Halloween and Harry was six and a half weeks pregnant with Draco's child. Somehow, all the bickering and the enmity just didn't seem so important anymore. More than anything, Draco just wanted to be able to tell Harry how he felt, but even he knew that just coming on to him wasn't an option. It would freak him out at the very least. However, he could most certainly offer to be his friend instead of his enemy. 

Resolved, Draco stepped around the stacks and into the firelight from the hearth. Harry was wrapped up in his own emotions and didn't hear him coming, so when Draco put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and looked up. As the beautiful green eyes landed on him, Draco said, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He sat in the chair across the rug from Harry. "Are you all right?" 

Harry curled in on himself, wiping the tears from his face in shame. "I'm fine." Draco raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Okay, I'm not fine, but there's nothing you can do about it, so why don't you just go out there and enjoy the party." 

Draco shook his head and sighed. "Harry, I know I've been awful to you in the past, but I'd like to think that you and I could put all that behind us. I want us to be friends, Harry. I don't want us to hate each other when there will be a new life at stake in all our bickering. I mean, imagine it. What do we do when, ten years from now, this child asks one of us why we hate each other. My answer would be 'Because your grandfather told me to.' Yours would be 'Because he was mean to me in school.' It all sounds rather childish to me. Not the kind of example I want to set." He looked Harry in the eye. "Besides, didn't you ever hear that pain shared is pain halved?" Harry said nothing, looking into the fire as if it held all the answers to life. "Come on, Harry. Tell me." 

Harry took a deep breath, then let it out in a blustery sigh. He looked into Draco's eyes, gauging his sincerity. Finding no deceit surprised Harry, but he nodded and looked back into the fire. "All right. I'm scared. I'm scared about being a single father, about school, about Voldemort, about my whole life. The prophesy said that between Voldemort and I, only one will survive. If he gets his hands on me while I'm pregnant, I know which one that will be. I can't do half the defensive spells I've learned, and occulmency training is out of the question. If he takes the baby after it's born, I'll still die, because he'll use it against me. And that's just the most immediate concerns. Say I win and Voldemort is dead. I'll still have to get a job to support myself and the baby, get a place of our own, and all that, and I'd have to work instead of being there for my child. Of course, the others will be there to help me, but I'll essentially be doing this on my own. I don't want to have to be an absent father, to worry that my child won't know me because I'm at work all the time." 

Draco nodded. "What do you see when you look at the Weasly family, Harry? I see two very poor people raising a grand total of seven children. Do any of those seven seem to have any problems with knowing their parents, even the third one, Percy?" For Percy had never turned around from his criticism of Harry and his family. But Draco was right. None of the Weasly's had any doubts that their parents loved them, even though Arthur had to work long hours at the Ministry just to make ends meet. "You see what I mean? And I hope you'll let me help. I don't want the child growing up without me, either. As for the rest, you're going to have to let the rest of us help you." 

Harry looked at Draco. He meant what he said, and he was offering friendship instead of enmity, support instead of degradation and ridicule. But there was something else in Draco's eyes, something that he desperately wanted to keep hidden. "Why, Draco? Other than this child, why are you doing this?" 

_Damn! Perceptive bugger._ Somehow, Harry had seen Draco's deep and abiding love in his eyes. He didn't need to deal with it. "Nothing for you to worry about, Harry. I can handle my own battles. You have enough of them." 

Harry's eyes narrowed and he grinned. "Pain shared is pain halved." 

Draco grinned right back. "Ah, but you have enough for the both of us." 

"Draco..." 

"I'll tell you some day. But my little problem is really nothing I can't deal with. I have been for years. Now what do you say we go enjoy the feast, hmm?" 

Harry snorted. "Fine." 

* * *

During Potions the next day, Draco noticed a group of seventh-year Slytherins snickering amongst themselves. Knowing that he was in ill favor with his housemates because of his decision to stop tormenting Potter and the other Gryphindors, Draco reached beneath his robes to touch his wand and whispered, _"Aucupis."_ Information was power, and this was self-preservation. The spell caused their words to be audible to him without actually increasing their volume. They came to him with a strange echo effect as the Slytherins continued to chatter. 

_"I heard they've been snogging around."_ That was Crabbe. 

Goyle answered him. _"No, that was just a rumor. They've been rather chummy, though."_

Pansy Parkinson was the next to speak. _"Well that couldn't be because Potter saved his life, could it! Honestly, Crabbe, what were you thinking?" _

"I was just..." 

"You weren't, that's what! If Potter hadn't reacted so damned quickly, we'd have all gotten whatever he got. And I absolutely HATE being indebted to Harry Potter for any reason! And I still haven't figured out what that damned potion was, or just how much you screwed it up. All I do know is that Potter is wearing a glamour. I just don't know what it is he's hiding." 

Satisfied, Draco whispered, _"Disaucupis,"_ which turned the spell off. Pansy was superb at creating glamours, so he'd known that she would figure that part out, but since she didn't know anything else, he figured that he and Harry were safe for the moment. He nodded to the pregnant boy before sitting down, but said nothing. His information would have to wait until they could speak more privately. 

Having learned of the skill Harry possessed in Potions work, Snape had drilled him to find out why he was so inept in class. Harry'd told him that at first he had been distracted by Snape's attitude, and then he'd kept up an act so that he attracted the Potion Master's ire and kept his attention off the other Gryphindors. Snape had actually grinned at him for the strategy, but he would no longer allow Harry to do less than his best. They exchanged promises. Harry would pull his grades out of the barely passing zone, and Snape would lay off the Gryphs, allowing them to continue keeping _their_ grades up. This was very important for students like Neville Longbottom, who got test anxiety just from being in the same room with Snape. 

So ever since, Harry had been tested rigorously, and to everyone's surprise, including Harry's, he'd tested even higher than Draco! But some things just couldn't be done around a pregnant person, and that meant a great deal of book work for the green-eyed Gryphindor. Today was going to be one of those days. Snape stood up and said, "Mr. Potter, you're excused for the day. I expect you to research and diagram the properties of duplication potions, specifically Doppelganger and Clone potions, including any and all side effects and ways to eliminate them. I want a two foot essay on the general properties and three feet each on the two specific potions, along with the diagrams. This is going to be your mid-term project, so hop to it." 

Draco grinned. Yes, that would be a perfect solution, if they could get a potion to not try and duplicate the baby as well. The copy could do all the practical work that Harry was missing, but it would still be Harry's knowledge being tested. He chuckled to himself. _Bloody brilliant!_ They might actually be able to pull this off without anyone figuring it out! 

Draco wasn't kidding himself. So many things could go wrong here! Even if no one found out about the pregnancy, they were going to have a tough time hiding the baby, and there was no question that they would have to hide the baby. If just one word got back to Voldemort about the child's existence, then everyone's lives would be in much greater danger. But if Harry could figure out this potion, then it would make things a lot easier. 

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. _

A/N: I start referring to the gender of the baby in this chapter, since by this time you can tell. We're going to have another moment, as well. 

* * *

For the next two weeks, Harry and Draco spent a lot of time together, mostly working on the copying potions, but sometimes just talking. Harry spoke of everything from Quidditch to life at the Dursleys', and Draco talked about his family life, as well. His parents were both loyal to Voldemort, though Narcissa had never taken the Dark Mark. Voldemort hadn't required it of her when he heard her reason, namely that it just wouldn't go with anything in her wardrobe. He was assured of her loyalty because of that very shallowness. It had been the only thing she had against it, promising instead to take a piece of jewelry with the symbol on it, a pendant that was spelled to never come off her neck. Of course, that made Narcissa trouble. She would not be pleased with her grandchild being Harry Potter's child. 

Harry made some long-range plans, mostly involving his life post-war. He'd decided to become a teacher, rather than an Auror. He'd actually enjoyed teaching his fellow students how to defend themselves during his tenure as the leader of Dumbledore's Army, and he thought he'd like to make that his focus. It helped that it would piss Snape off something fierce if he got the DADA position. He knew that, should he survive, he wanted to make sure that the curse of that particular teaching position was lifted. He imagined he would get a house in Hogsmede, perhaps ask Dobby the house elf if he wouldn't enjoy helping him around the house for a modest fee. He knew that he would have to work hard to get the teaching position, but that didn't bother him. 

It was those more immediate problems, however, that frightened him the most. Spies for the dark side were lurking around every corner. There was always the very real possibility that Voldemort would again try to possess Harry through the scar on his forehead, and Occulmency would disrupt the natural energy flows of the baby. It was the nature of the spell. It kept people out of your head by disrupting those energy flows in them, and since Harry was physically connected to the baby, it would do the same thing to it, and in a developing fetus that could cause deformities and even death. That was unacceptable, both to Harry and to Draco. 

Dumbledore was worried as well, and he had asked the staff to help with Harry's defense. Every teacher was working on finding alternatives for those spells that would harm the baby. Many had their classes helping them, though the students didn't really know what they were working on. While Harry and Draco worked on the copying spells, Hermione, Ron and Ginny worked on ways to block Harry's link to Voldemort. It was a fact of life, however, that every offensive spell any of them knew could not be used while pregnant. He could still conjure his Patronus, which was good since being exposed to a dementor could cause the death of the baby. 

Harry also had a regular weekly appointment with Madame Pomfrey so that she could keep track of their health. She was able to perform a spell that produced an image of the baby, much like an ultrasound that a Muggle doctor would have given, but much more detailed. It looked more like a wizard painting, but it hung in mid-air, a life-sized hologram that moved when the baby moved in real-time. It was the most beautiful thing Harry had ever seen, and as time passed, it only grew more beautiful. 

Draco continued to support Harry, ruthlessly pushing his own emotions aside, though it was becoming increasingly more difficult. Knowing that the person he loved the most in this world was going to have his child, and yet not being able to be with him, was the hardest thing he'd ever done. And yet, he was also getting to spend time with Harry, something he'd never been able to do before. He was even starting to mend things with Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Harry's best friends had always been part of the driving force behind Draco's enmity with him, both because of their status and because of the way they tended to egg him on because he was a Slytherin. But they were all growing up, and all of them knew that Harry had no intention of denying Draco access to their child, so they were trying their very best to keep it nice. 

The entire Slytherin House was on his case more and more frequently because he had stopped fighting with the Gryphindors. The only one who didn't was Pansy Parkinson, but she was an even greater danger because of her inquisitive nature. While she wasn't quite on Hermione's level, she had the same tendency to put odd bits of information with alarming accuracy, and she and her parents were completely loyal to Voldemort. If she figured out what was going on, Voldemort would know it within twenty-four hours. Meanwhile, Draco'd had to get a few new locking charms for all of his belongings and permission to put wards up around his bed. No one other than himself, Snape and Dumbledore could get into his trunk and anyone trying to get at him while he was asleep would get a rather nasty surprise. Anywhere else, he had to keep his guard up constantly, but that was normal for him anyway. 

It was fourteen weeks after the accident when it came to a head for him. During the last Quidditch practice before the school closed for Christmas holidays, Blaise Zabini came straight at him, knocked him off of his broom and into a pillar. He was left alone on the pitch until he woke and dragged himself toward the infirmary. He knew that his arm was broken, but he didn't know what other injuries he had, and it wouldn't be smart not to have himself checked out. In fact, he didn't actually make it, collapsing in the hall outside. 

Hermione found him there on her way back from running an errand for Madame Pomfrey. She levitated him and brought him into the infirmary, quickly calling for Pomfrey. Draco tried to stay awake, but the moment he was safely placed on a cot, his injuries caught up with him and he passed out. 

* * *

Harry rushed into the infirmary, having been told by Ron that Draco was in there, and he was badly beaten up. He considered Draco to be a friend now, and he hated it when his friends were hurt. More and more, it seemed that those he cared for were hurt because of him. He knew that becoming his friend had caused Draco's own house to turn against him, but he hadn't realized that they would be willing to kill him over it, and that was what it looked like had happened. They'd beaten him and left him for dead on the Quidditch pitch. And Harry found that he was not merely worried about Draco. He was also angry, angry enough to do damage, but he knew that it wasn't the right time. He couldn't just go after the people who had hurt his friend, as that would put Draco in even hotter water. 

He found Draco lying there on the cot in the medical wing, Madame Pomfrey checking him over. "How is he?" 

The mediwitch turned around, not having seen Harry come in. "He's got a concussion, three broken ribs, two cracked ones and a punctured lung, as well as a broken arm. He'll have to be in here for about a week for the head and the lung, and he'll look like one big bruise for a while, but he's going to be all right." She came around the bed and headed for him. "Now, since you're down here, we can go ahead and get your checkup out of the way. Go ahead and have a seat, Harry, and I'll be right back." 

While he waited on the nurse to return, Harry found himself watching Draco. Even with the massive bruises on his face, the Slytherin looked beautiful in his sleep, like a fallen angel. There were no worry lines, no calculating expressions, or even wicked humor, just the illusion of a creature who had no problems, who could sleep peacefully and without the nightmares that hounded both their lives. 

Harry had decided after his fiasco with Cho Chang in fourth year that his life would be far better off without any romantic relationships in it. Not only would they be a distraction, but if he showed any undue affection to any one person, that person might just find themselves on the wrong end of a Death Eater's wand in an attempt to get at him. Not a risk he was willing to take. But that didn't keep Harry from having all the normal urges of any sixteen-year-old boy. He knew that both girls and boys could affect him that way, and he'd come to terms long ago with that fact. As he looked at Draco, however, a feeling that was so much stronger than any of those boyish fantasies came over him, and he groaned. He'd been denying it for long enough, but seeing Draco so hurt and so innocent looking was shoving the feeling home with deadly accuracy. _Shit._

Well, there was nothing for it now, and there was no way he was going to push his friendship with Draco. Now was not the time and he didn't want to loose what he already had with him. There was too much going on right now to risk it. But that didn't stop him from watching his love (yes, he could say that now, if only in his head) sleeping and wishing with all his heart that the world wasn't so against them. 

Pomfrey came back with a bottle of pills. "This is just calcium for the baby's bones. I want you to take one every day. If the baby can't get his calcium from your diet, he'll take it from your bones, and you'll have problems later in life. Osteoporosis is not something you want to deal with." He nodded and took the bottle from her. "Now, let's take a look at your little one, shall we?" Harry smiled and took his shirt off. 

* * *

Draco woke up to the unusual sensation of light streaming through the lids of his eyes. In the Slytherin dungeons, there were no windows, so the only light he could wake to was that from a candle or lamp. That didn't bode well for him in his current state of disfavor with the rest of the house, so he was fully alert before he ever opened his eyes, ready to meet a threat. 

But what he saw was certainly no threat! Harry sat on the next cot beside him, shirtless and barefoot. But his attention was on a pink glowing ball of energy that hovered a mere thirty centimeters in front of the Gryphindor. It was the size of a bludger, and inside was the image of what could only be the unborn child Harry was carrying. The baby's eyes were closed, and he sucked on his thumb, a completely innocent gesture that caused Draco to smile. He was beautiful! And he was only going to keep getting more beautiful as time went by. 

Harry noticed that Draco's eyes were open and fixated on their child. He enjoyed the look of shocked amazement that had blossomed on the Slytherin's face. Gone was the arrogant spoiled teenager, replaced by a man falling in love with his son for the first time. It was so perfect a moment that Harry didn't want to spoil it, but he stood and moved to sit on the edge of Draco's cot. Which didn't spoil the moment after all, because Draco couldn't take his eyes off the baby. A bare whisper came from the injured blonde. "He's beautiful, Harry!" 

Harry grinned. "Draco Malfoy, meet James Abraham Malfoy. I wanted him to have your name and my father's name, and Abraham seemed like a good neutral middle name." 

Draco smiled. "It sounds good." He looked up at Harry and saw the gentle love in his eyes. Then he realized it wasn't directed only at the child. _Uh oh. Is he starting to have feelings for me?_

Harry saw the question in Draco's eyes. _Oops. Busted._

"Harry?" Then he looked, really looked at Draco's face and was mildly surprised to find that his feelings were returned. 

He sighed. "Does it matter if we can't either one afford to do anything about it?" 

_So he figured it out. Damn._ Draco's sigh echoed Harry's. _No use denying it._ "I know." He looked over at the baby, still entranced by the fact that he'd had a part in creating something of such beauty and innocence. "But right here and right now, I have to feel hope that one day we aren't going to be here. We aren't always going to be in such danger. There will be a life to live after this damned war is over and done with. So let's make a deal, you and I. Should we both survive this insanity and still feel the way we do, then we'll take the time to explore it." 

Harry grinned again. "That would be wonderful." 

Both men turned their attention to the glowing image of little James. Smiles crossed both their faces as he turned over in the fluid he swam in. And if the hand of one found it's way into the hand of the other, neither said anything about it. 

* * *

_Tell me how'd you like it! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. _

A/N: Well, I finally got this chapter done. It just didn't want to work in some places, but I finally got it. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. And enjoy the show! 

* * *

"I've got it!" 

Draco looked up from where he was researching the Doppleganger potion to see what Harry was on about. "What?" 

Harry had a wide grin on his face as he leaned over the book in front of him. "We combine Doppleganger and Clone in a 3:1 ratio. It will dilute the Clone enough to keep it from copying the baby, as well as increasing the amount of control I have over it. _And_ I can copy myself up to four times before they start getting muddied. It won't be toxic because I don't actually have to drink the thing, just put three drops of blood into the mix. There should be enough white cells that way to get enough DNA for the potion to copy. They'll sprout in normal soil and be fully grown in twenty four hours. They have no intelligence of their own, not even to follow orders. Instead, they'll be directly linked to my own consciousness, and they'll do as I direct. The copies are active for six months, then die and become compost within twelve hours." 

Draco grinned. It had been almost nine weeks since Harry had been given the assignment, and though he'd had the required work done much sooner, it had taken this long to discover the alternative potion. "Can the clone do wand work?" 

"Some. The clone should be strong enough for anything I come across in classes. We're not doing anything too complex in Charms right now, and Transfigurations are conducted very well by clones." 

"What about Defense?" Their new DADA teacher, Professor Fabri, had been working on shielding spells and breaching curses. Both took a lot of energy, probably too much for the clone to handle and definitely not the sort of thing to expose little James to. He really wouldn't be able to do anything like that until after James was born. 

Harry shook his head. "I don't think the clone will be able to handle it." 

Draco frowned. "Damn. And you're going to need those spells, too." He blew out a blustery sigh. "Well, we'll think of something." 

* * *

On the 6th of January, Draco and Harry got permission from Professor Snape to hijack the Potions lab. With a parting admonition not to blow it up again, Snape left them alone to prepare the modified Clone potion. 

They worked separately on the two potions, no words passing between them other than "Pass the kaiba root, please." Harry's blood was an ingredient in both potions, so they'd collected it at the beginning. Harry carefully measured the portion to three percent of the solution and then poured it into the mix. It tried to clump up, but then he added the water, continuing to stir it so that everything was well mixed. Then he set the cauldron on the fire to let it boil. Draco's potion was well on its way to being finished as well. 

The Clone potion had to boil for a while before they could add in the Doppleganger, so he started looking through the cabinets at the available ingredients. Three of them caught his eye; saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. _Black powder!_ He started laughing. Why had he missed something this simple? 

Draco came over. "What?" 

Still chuckling, Harry said, "I've been trying to figure out how to go about winning this war. Of course I always looked at magical means, but you know what? I've never seen a wizard yet prepare themselves against a physical attack when they were getting ready for a duel!" 

Draco frowned. "How is a physical attack going to help us? You have to get too close..." 

Harry shook his head, interrupting his friend. "Not any more, you don't. The wizarding world is very ignorant of what the Muggles can do these days with long range weaponry. A sniper rifle can be fired with accuracy at over a mile, no magic required. And hopefully we can set the stage before hand. We have everything we'd need here to make black powder. All we'd have to do is set caches of it around the perimeter of the battlefield and wait for them to come, then ignite them all at once. We'd have a ring of fire to keep them where we wanted them and we could fight it out on our own terms." 

Draco nodded seeing what Harry was talking about. "And none of their spells would pick up on the powder. Brilliant!" 

"It still won't work on Voldemort, though, will it?" 

"No. He's done too much work to keep himself from dying at all. We'll still have to come up with something to get rid of him." Draco looked Harry in the eye. "You realize you're going to have to kill him, right?" 

Harry took the stare for a while, but eventually he turned away and looked down at his shoes. "I don't want to kill, Draco. But I know I have to." He growled. "It's not fair, damn it! I'm sixteen years old! I should be thinking about girls and partying and lying about my age so I can go get drunk, not mourning my dead and protecting my family from a madman with the use of deadly force!" 

"I know." Draco sighed. "But what choice do we have? And make no mistake, it will be 'we,' not just you. I will stand beside you on that day, no matter what." 

"Thank you. But it's still going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm not a killer. I never wanted to be special. The only thing I ever wanted as a child was for someone to accept me for who I was. Cliché, I know, but there it is. I never got that acceptance. To the Dursleys, I was an inconvenience and a troublemaker. To the wizarding world I've always been a symbol, either of failure or hope, depending on which wizard you were speaking to. Even Hermione and Ron have been like that. Hermione always goes on about duty and being prepared for it. Ron is always convinced that I can do no wrong because I'm the boy-whose-parents-were-killed-but-he-wasn't, unless I did something he didn't like, and then I was a traitor. Ron's parents, all the teachers, Dumbledore; they all just want me to be their weapon. Sirius was the only one who didn't, but he's not here anymore. I just want to be sixteen and not have all this responsibility! I want Sirius to be alive and live with him in his home. And I don't want to have to kill a man just to be safe!" 

Draco itched to embrace Harry, to comfort him, but he held back. "Destiny doesn't care what we want, only what it needs, and wishing can't bring back the dead. But I accept you for what you are, and I'll help you to deal with the rest, and once this damned war is over, we're going to get to know each other very well indeed!" That last was said with a leer that left no doubt as to his meaning. 

Harry laughed, letting his mood lighten considerably, which had, of course, been Draco's intention. "Too right, mate." 

* * *

_Dearest Draco, _

I have heard some very disturbing news from your friend, Pansy. She wrote me out of concern for your well being, and I am glad that she did! Is it true that you have become friends with Harry Potter? I would hate to think that you would betray our Friend in this manner, my son. I would hate for anything untoward to happen to you due to this - association. I understand that your feelings may be confused due to the fact that he saved your life. I admit to some confusion myself on this point, but I have decided that our final meeting shall be merciful rather than painful. It is all the consideration I will allow myself to show the boy who is responsible for putting your father in prison. Do not forget where our loyalties lie, Draco. Our Friend will not be pleased. 

By my hand and seal, Narcissa Malfoy 

Draco stared at the letter numbly. His worst fears were coming true. His mother had practically told him that she'd hand him over to Voldemort if he continued to be friends with Harry. And Parkinson had tattled on him to his mother! _Wench,_ he thought. What was he to do now? There was no way that he was giving up his time spent with Harry willingly, but he feared what his mother would do. After all, she could get into the school because she was the parent of one of the students. The wards wouldn't hold against her, though Draco knew that there were spells in place to prevent Death Eaters who had children enrolled from breaching the wards for Voldemort. 

He knew that he was in deep with his housemates. After he'd told Snape what had happened with the Quidditch practice, he'd told Draco that he was getting his own room for the remainder of his education at Hogwarts. It was the only thing he could possibly do to prevent further violence. So if his mother did try to attack him, at least there was somewhere he could go that she wouldn't know about. 

So what _would_ he do if she came after him? He could ask that Dumbledore protect him, but his pride didn't want to let him ask for help. This was a family matter, and he would deal with it on his own. But since it _was_ a family matter, he knew that he was going to have to tell Harry, and likely Hermione, Ron and Ginny as well, if only at Harry's insistence. And Draco actually found that he would agree with that. Five minds working on the problem would be much better than two. 

Decision made, Draco folded up the letter and slid it into the pocket inside his robe. He would tell Harry tonight when they set about planting one of the clone seeds in the greenhouse. 

* * *

Planting the clone was a simple enough matter. They'd told Sprout, Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore what they were planning on, so they wouldn't receive detention for it. Snape had been surprised that they'd actually worked out the variation so quickly, but he seemed pleased. To the annoyance of most of Slytherin House, Harry was quickly becoming one of Snape's best students, and it was worse in their eyes that Snape didn't seem to share their feelings on the matter. 

Once the seed was in the ground in an out of the way section of the greenhouse where no one was likely to notice it and Harry'd watered it well, Draco pulled out the letter and let Harry read it as they walked back toward the castle. As Draco watched his expressions, Harry became livid and scared all at once. Draco could see the wheels moving in his head, and he obviously didn't like where they stopped. "Maybe you shouldn't-" 

"You just stop right there. I'm not about to let my mother start dictating my actions, not for any reason. Who I spend time with is my decision, not hers, and not yours either. I'm not giving you up just because somebody upped the ante!" 

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me, Draco." 

"And I won't. It's not all about you, you know. This is my mother trying to exert control over her little puppet again. She and Father are both like that. Well I refuse to be controlled, and if I get hurt, you can't think it's your fault. You need to quit blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong around here." 

"But if Voldemort wasn't after me-" 

Draco got in front of Harry and put his hands on the Gryphindors shoulders to stop him from continuing forward, forcing him to look up into Draco's face. "If Voldemort wasn't after you, then you would be dead, because that's the only way he wouldn't come after you. None of this is your fault, Harry, not when you were a baby, not when you were fourteen and not last year. People die. Voldemort kills them. It's his fault, not yours." 

Harry sighed, nodding his head. "I kind of know that, in my head anyway. But I've lost so much! I can't help but be afraid of loosing more. If anything happened to you or James or - or Hermione or Ron...I just don't know what I'd do." 

"You'd keep fighting. Make him pay for what he's done." Draco looked him in the eye. "Please, Harry? Promise to keep fighting?" 

Harry looked deep into the burnished silver eyes of the boy - no, the man he loved. Draco was afraid. Not of his mother, not of Voldemort and not of death, but Draco was afraid. He was afraid for Harry and for the child he carried. "I promise." 

Draco nodded, then turned back around and started walking toward the castle. Harry watched for a moment, his emotions threatening to spill out all over the place. No one had ever loved him like this. _And no one else ever will. I promised to keep fighting, and I will, Draco. But if I loose you, the only ones I'll be fighting for will be you and James. The rest of the world can go swim with the squid._ That decided, Harry followed Draco back to the castle. 

* * *

_More commercials! (I've got to actually make some of those sometime.) Reviews please! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. _

MADAM MALKIN'S ROBES FOR ALL OCCASIONS 

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* * *

A/N: To Madness: The thing about Death Eaters is that they are arrogant and overconfident. They don't pay attention to Muggles because Muggles are beneath them. At most, they're going to know of the invention of the gun and the basic principles behind it. No way they're going to know about the kind of high tech weaponry of today. That's what makes the plan so perfect. And Voldemort with an H-bomb? *shudders* There's a nightmare for you. Bye bye Europe! 

* * *

When Harry walked into Potions the next Monday morning, he seemed a little jumpy. Hermione asked him what was wrong, but he just said he'd tell her after class. He listened closely to the potion at hand, a fairly simple draught that was meant as a cure for warts. The only reason it was a sixth year assignment was the delicacy of the recipe. Just a tad too much or not enough of this or that or something added in the wrong order and you'd either have a cauldron of smoke or sludge, neither of which would do anyone any harm or good. Hermione was surprised, however, when Harry started to actually put the potion together. He wasn't supposed to be working potions in his condition! She was definitely going to have words with him when class was over! 

Class done, they exited the classroom and Hermione grabbed hold of Harry's arm, dragging him to a little out of the way corner of the coridoor. "Harry, what were you thinking!?" 

Before she could get any more worked up, Harry grinned and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Hermione. I knew what I was doing." 

"That stuff could have hurt the baby!" 

"No it couldn't, because the baby's not here." Still grinning at the look on her face, Harry pulled up his shirt to show her what he was talking about. 

Hermione looked, and to her astonishment, Harry's bellybutton was green! "Harry?" 

"Actually, Clone Number One. Clone potion mixed three to one with Doppleganger. That way I didn't have to drink it at all. It makes seeds like the Doppleganer does, but I have better control over it than I would a Doppleganger. And neither potion makes any fumes I'd have to worry about because of the baby. Sorry I didn't tell you about it, but I wanted to make sure it would fool everyone, and you're the most observant person I know." 

"Observant?" 

Harry smirked at her. "Yes, observant." Then he pitched his voice higher to match hers. "'Didn't you see what it was standing on?'" Hermione blushed at the reminder of Fluffy standing over the trap door on the third floor their first year. Harry chuckled, speaking normally again. "I fooled even you, so I don't have anything to worry about on that front." 

They left the corner and started walking to their next class, Charms. "So what might you have to worry about?" 

"There's no way this thing can handle the shielding spells in Defense. Charms and Transfiguration won't be any problem, nor will Potions or Quidditch practice. I'm going to ask Professor Fabri if she's got any ideas, but I don't have her until Wednesday." 

Hermione shook her head in amazement. "Well, you certainly did good work with this. Even the scar is in the right place. These things almost always screw up details like that. Where are you, by the way?" 

Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I'm in common room. I've got the cloak with me just in case someone comes in." 

"Will you know it?" Hermione knew that a clone took all your concentration because it had to act as you normally would. 

"Yeah. I put a charm on the portrait from this side. It'll sound an alarm if someone is standing outside the portrait to give the password." That'll give me just enough time to freeze the clone and cover up." 

"Harry, why don't you go ahead and do that as soon as we're seated. That way you won't have to worry about splitting your attention." 

Harry nodded. "Good idea. 

* * *

Professor Fabri was a blacksmith and a spellsmith, one of the foremost forgers of magical weapons and armaments in the world. An ancestor of hers had actually forged Godric Gryphindor's sword, the one which Harry had used to kill the basilisk in Second Year. She was a large woman, not a blob like Umbridge had been, but tall and stocky. She had large bones and big, callused hands from years at the forge, and she was very strong. Her face was square, with a bit of rounding under the chin that spoke to a good life. She had brilliant blue eyes and thick auburn hair that reached the floor when she was sitting and had the braid thrown over the back of her chair. Harry knew that he was going to need her help to find a way to shield himself and his child from curses. The problem was that shield spells had a tendency to require huge amounts of energy flow, the very thing that Harry was trying to avoid. He hoped that she had discovered a way around that problem. 

He stayed behind after class the next time he had her. "Yes, Harry? What can I do for you?" 

"Do you have any ideas yet as to how I can do some shielding?" 

"Actually, I did have an idea of something you could do, but I wanted to research it further before I broached the subject. Do you want to hear it?" 

"Yeah. Maybe I can help now that I've gotten the doubling project done and out of the way." 

"Oh! Is this not you, then?" 

Harry grinned. "That's right. I'm back in the common room covered with my father's invisibility cloak." 

"Well it's a very good one. I didn't even notice. Well then, what I've been thinking of is the idea of the invisibility cloak. They're hand woven from ordinary silk by a craftsman. The weaver lets a simple vnishing charm run through their fingers as they work with the thread. The charm gets woven slowly into the fabric, becoming a part of it, but unlike simply charming an existing cloak, the spell is a hundred times more powerful because it was fed power constantly through the weaving. I was thinking that this would be the perfect way for you to create a shield that you could use while pregnant. You wouldn't necessarily have to use a waving loom for it. There are other ways of creating garments, even in the Muggle world." 

Harry thought about it. "You're talking about things like knitting and crochet, right?" 

"Exactly, Harry. Do you know how to do either of those?" 

"No. I'd have to learn. How do you weave the charm?" 

"Slowly. That's why you'll be able to do it. You run the spell through your fingers and into the wool as you work with it. It doesn't take a lot of energy at a time, the thread work itself is done entirely without magic and in the end the spells are stronger and more acurate than wand magic. You can even put them on a trigger so you don't have to be conscious or even present for them to work. Do you want to learn this?" 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It gives me an idea." 

* * *

Over the next week, Professor Fabri showed Harry the basics of crochet and how to read a pattern. She gave him several to look over, both afghans and clothing patterns for infants, as well as a pattern for a stuffed dragon that she thought was adorable. Harry loved the look of the little dragon and decided to change the coloration to white and silver, a perfect match for Draco. He also found a phoenix toy among the patterns and took that one as well. 

Hermione and Ginny, meanwhile, had gotten together with Professors Dumbledore McGonagall, Sprout, Fabri and Madame Pomfrey to plan Harry's baby shower. They had long since gotten permission to tell the entire Weasly family (save Percy) and Remus Lupin about the baby, so all of them recieved invitations to the shower. Draco had found out about it, but he had been sworn to secrecy on pain of death by the two girls. He had readily agreed, however, and had even made arrangements for his own rather extravagant present to be represented at the shower. He knew that Harry was likely to be embarassed by the attention, and he would probably be shocked into disapnea (not breathing) by Draco's gift, but it was something that Harry would need, no matter what happened between the two of them. 

Harry's preocupation with learning the little tricks that came with making an acceptable work of crochet gave everyone plenty of opportunity to sneak around him. The day of the shower, Professor Fabri agreed to distract Harry by taking him to Hogsmede to by materials for all of the things he planned to make. Everyone who wasn't already at Hogwarts Floo'd in and then the whole lot made their way to the Room of Requirement, which was where the party was being held. Dobby had also been invited as a guest, so he was already in the room setting out refreshments. There was a table off to the side for the gifts to be placed on. Snape even came in and dropped off a gift, though no one expected he would stay for the party. Several others dropped off gifts as well, including Professors Trelawney, Sinistra and Vector. Firenez hadn't come, as centaur culture dictated that gifts be given to foals after their birth, not before it. Binns couldn't give a hoot what was going on in the present, and Filch had never been informed of the situation. 

Harry went up to the common room as soon as he returned from Hogsmede with Professor Fabri. She had insisted that he call her Artificia when they were off school grounds, but he couldn't quite make himself do it. Still, she was turning into a friend, and he was glad to have her company on the shopping trip. 

He had no sooner dropped his packages on his bed preliminary to sorting them out, when Hedwig swooped into the room and dropped a note on the bed. He opened it quickly. It was written in Dumbledore's elegant script, and it said, _Please meet me in the Room of Requirement, Harry. There is something that I wish to discuss with you._ Harry left everything where it was on his bed and went to find the Room. 

It was completely quiet and dark when he entered, something that it had never done before. Worried that something was wrong, Harry's wand was in his hand before he really had a chance to think about it. Suddenly the lights went up and Harry's mind registered only that there were people in the room for a moment. Until they shouted "Surprise!" 

There were eighteen people in the room, a pile of oddly shaped packages in the corner and a table full of food and drinks in the center along with a banner that said "Welcome! James Abraham Malfoy." Harry breathed a sigh of relief and put his wand away. He looked at Dumbledore. "You're trying to get hexed, right?" 

With that omnipresent twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore just smiled at him. "Of course not, my dear boy. Only to surprise you. Everyone here, and some who are not, decided that your son will need a few things once he has arrived in this world, so we've seen fit to give them to you now." 

Hermione and several others rolled their eyes. "In other words, Harry, it's a baby shower." 

Harry chuckled. "I gathered that." He looked up at Draco. "Was this your idea?" 

Draco snorted. "Of course not. This entirely not my style. Hermmione and Ginny are to blame, and they swore me to secrecy, so don't go getting on me for not telling you." 

Harry just grinned. There were eighteen people in the room, professors, Weaslys, Hermione and Remus Lupin, and from the size of the pile in the corner, all of them had bought him at least one gift. "You guys didn't have to do this." 

Remus said, "Of course we didn't. Everyone in this room cares about you. There will probably be more gifts coming from the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, but several of them are on assignment at the moment and couldn't be informed." 

McGonagall spoke up. "We do this because we want to, young man, and we don't need any other reason than that." 

The party was like an affirmation of life for everyone who was there. Thoughts of the war had been weighing heavily on everyone's mind, though, and it showed in many of the gifts. There were normal baby gifts, of course. Molly had knitted matching Father and Son sweaters, the two adult sweaters being either red and gold or green and silver, and James's being red and green, though more red than green. Arthur had charmed a crib mobile to go on the crib that Bill Weasly had bought. Charlie had found an oak rocking chair carved with dragons in flight. Fred and George laughingly gave him a charmed nappy bucket, but Harry decided to be grateful. Dumbledore gave him a child-sized training broom, but Harry said, "Oh, no. He's not getting on that thing until he's six, at least!" 

Ron joked, "Considering the trouble both of his parents can get into on a broom, that's probably a good idea." He and Hermione had been named godparents. Ron had given them a location clock like the one hanging in his mother's house. Hermione had given Harry a stack of CDs and the spell she had worked out that would make the things play without a stereo. 

Draco's gift was an elegant silver dragon pendant that was charmed to fly for help in the face of danger. 

Professor McGonagall had given him a first edition copy of the novel she had written, _Twisted Transfigurements_. Professor Sprout presented him with a potted Baby's Sleep plant, for those long nights. It was also a good cure for colic, should that become a problem. From Professor Flitwick came a nappy bag that was charmed bottomless and refilling. Remus Lupin had given him a painting of a wolf that sang a quiet luliby when needed and would howl in alarm if something went wrong with the baby. Hagrid had shown a bit of sense for once and bought the non-animated version of the Baby Blast-ended Skrewt, much to everyone's relief. 

There were four gifts from professors who were not at the party. Snape had been practical and given a nutrient potion to be added to the baby's formula. Trelawney had only given a card, but inside it stated that she would read the baby's future when he was born. Harry shared a look with Ron and Hermione at that one and shook his head. He didn't plan on making good on that one. Sinistra and Vector had given toys and clothes, respectively, very general gifts. 

But there were other gifts as well, gifts that were unmarked, things that were not for the baby or even really for his parents. In a black leather case was a set of weapons; a scoped hunting rifle, a pair of pearl-handled Colt .45 semiautomatic pistols, amunition for all three, and a note. It said, _You may not want this case. I will not be offended if you don't take it, or the potion that is in the next box. However, if you find you can do so, soak the bullets in the potion before your final confrontation with the Dark One. It is not something I have any intention of giving you the recipe to, either, so use it frugally. The potion is Soul Killer. It may yet be the only thing to ensure that Voldemort does not come back from the dead this time. And practice your aim. You'll still need to make a head shot for the poison to work against all of his precautions. This is not a decision you should take lightly. One of the key ingredients of Soul Killer is vampire venom. As I'm certain you know, a vampire reproduces by injecting this venom to remove the soul of the person they wish to turn and feeding them their own blood, which contains the seeds of the demon within them. Combined with the other ingredients, Soul Killer ensures that it's victim's soul cannot reunite with its body, and may not even be able to become a ghost. _

This is a decision only you can make. I give these things to you now because it is for the innocent ones that you must destroy Voldemort, the children. This is for the future, his future. 

Harry was tempted to chuck the box which held the poison at the wall, but practicality won out. This anonymous person was right. Despite the fact that he had never asked for this burden, Voldemort was _his_ responsibility. He only hoped that he would be able to take that shot when he had the chance. 

* * *

That's the next chapter. The longest one yet, and a very dark ending, but it was kind of necessary. 


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Oh, and I don't own the quote from Romeo and Juliet. _

A/N: Sorry about how long this chapter took. I've been paying more attention to As A Bat lately. 

I talk about how Harry and Draco are going to use the gunpowder in this chapter. I don't actually know if what I've described would be effective, so just remember that this is fiction. Reality doesn't matter! Also I get a little maudlin and start quoting Shakespeare, though Harry changed the names on me. 

**Sure, blame the pregnant kid.**

Hush, you! 

**She's always telling me to hush. She must know I'm right.**

No. Only enough to be annoying. 

**Which means always.**

:b Enjoy, everyone!

* * *

Pansy decided that it would be in her best interests to find out what Draco had been doing in the greenhouse with Potter. Hopefully there would be some kind of evidence that she could condemn them with, but didn't have a clue what she was looking for. All she knew was that Harry had stopped wearing his glamour, but he still didn't do anything but book work in DADA. Something was up, and if she knew it, then she would have some leverage. 

Pansy had always fancied Draco, but he continuously brushed her off. These days, of course, no one was talking to him because of his attitude toward Harry Potter, but that didn't mean she didn't still want in his pants. She could forgive him being nice to Potter, since he had saved her life that day as well. However, she intended to be married to Draco once they had graduated, and she needed to begin the process of drawing him into her web. She had no doubt that she would be able to do so if she could find some juicy tidbit that she could blackmail him with, but she had to have something to start with. 

So this was why she was sneaking off during Herbology, doing a little snooping around the greenhouses. She could always claim a little honest curiosity about her surroundings. Sprout was stupid enough to believe it. 

What Pansy found had her smiling. This meant that Potter wasn't over whatever he'd been afflicted with. And Malfoy was in it up to his neck. The prat had completely changed sides. And that was just fine with Pansy. It would give her the edge, knowing something like that. She wouldn't run straight to his mother with this one. No. This lure needed a bit of play in the line to be most effective. She'd cast it when it would be more effective.

* * *

They waited nearly a week before they snuck off into the Dark Forest to learn the weapons they had been given. The Colts were in a cross draw shoulder holster and had been spelled so that they didn't cause a bulge in his robes. The holster sat neatly over the top of his school uniform. Draco was practicing with the rifle, hitting targets they'd marked at half a mile away. They were both taking to the weapons quickly, but Harry proved to be a crack shot. Within days, he was making perfect scores with both the pistols and the rifle. Draco wasn't far behind him, but he never made a perfect score. It was Harry's Seeker's eyes coming in to play. 

Harry was still ambivalent about using the guns on a person, even if that person was Voldemort, but he knew that he would do it when it got to the point where he had no other choice. Harry and Draco were already coming up with a battle plan, but it was all contingent on being able to draw Voldemort and his army to the place they wanted them, and even if he couldn't discover the presence of their non-magical bombs, he might still smell a trap. They would have to be very careful. 

The bombs were fairly simple, but they were designed to be very nasty. Draco had made a short trip to a Muggle grocery store in London that had a small coffee shop and made a deal to buy all their used coffee tins. He'd also bought a few barrels of nails. All of it was currently being hidden in the Potions lab, transfigured into new tables. The bombs would consist of a small coffee tin full of black powder settled in a large one that was full of nails. The things were meant to frag a lot of people, but because they used such a simple explosive, they didn't have a lot of range, so there would have to be a lot of them. They would be sealed with earth and a tiny ignition charm placed on each one. It should be enough to cause the explosion of the powder, but small enough that the magical signature would be lost in the magical ambiance of the Hogwarts grounds. 

Draco knew that Snape was supporting them. He had noticed the amounts of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal they were using, and he would easily figure out what they were making, but the supply cabinet was always full. They would go out onto the grounds every night and plant the charges, making sure to replace the sod over the top so that the area appeared natural. They always used the invisibility cloak, and they never told anyone what they were doing. There was too much chance that someone would overhear them. Hermione had asked Harry about it once, but he had told her it was for defense and that the walls might have ears. She never said another word, and neither did the others. 

Harry's pregnancy was progressing normally, or as normally as it could be. James was getting bigger every day, and both parents very favorite thing to do was watch their son with the _Revella Feto_ charm. Draco was there for every exam, and he paid close attention to how the charm was performed, so now he could do it himself. Sometimes they would just sit in the Room of Requirement and watch him, soft classical music playing in the background to calm them. And without knowing it, the child was bringing his parents closer and closer together, just by his very existence. 

Dumbledore was not being fooled about their feelings for each other. He would smile at the both of them in a knowing way every once in a while, and once he took Harry aside and reminded him that students were not allowed to have sexual relations with other students until they were over seventeen. Then he'd smiled and said, "Just don't forget what the Room of Requirement is for." Harry'd just shaken his head in bewilderment and explained that they were not getting involved with each other until Voldemort was no longer a threat. For some reason, though, that damned twinkle wouldn't leave the old man's eyes.

* * *

Pansy slammed her book closed. She still couldn't figure out what Crabbe had done to Potter, and it was annoying the hell out of her! She might not be top of the class in Potions, but she made good grades, and still she couldn't figure the thing out. It should have blown that room sky high! They shouldn't have even had enough time to get out of the room with that much wormwood in the cauldron. Instead, only Potter and the back wall had sustained any damage. And what kind of damage was anyone's guess. 

She hated not having all the information. But she could work with what she had. 

Draco was sitting alone at one of the worktables in the library, reading something with a pencil handy to take notes. She walked over and sat down in front of him. "What do you want, Parkinson?" He didn't say it nastily, but he was very cool, informing her that her presence was neither wanted nor required. 

"Four weeks ago, you snuck out of the dungeon. You were seen leaving with Potter. The very next day of classes, Potter's suddenly participating in everything except the one subject he most excels at, and the only class he wears a glamor in any more is DADA. And a week and a half ago, I find an empty Doppelganger pod in the greenhouse." Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but he said nothing. "Whatever he's doing, you're in it up to your neck, Draco. Your mother isn't going to like this." 

Draco glared. "Tattling again? A bit childish, wouldn't you say?" 

Pansy sniffed, leaning back in the chair she had appropriated. "Oh, I didn't say I was going to tell her." She smirked. "Yet." 

His eyes narrowed to slits and his face turned to ice against her. "What do you want?" 

"Nothing. Yet. But you'll give me what I want when the time comes, or else your mother will be informed of your - _relationship_ - with Potter." With that, the Slytherin girl stood and left the library, hips swaying provocatively. 

Draco watched her go, then turned around and groaned, banging his head against the table. He knew that Parkinson hadn't figured out that Harry and he had feelings for each other, but her plan to lie about it was like a waiting explosive. It could really blow up against them. He started banging his head against the table, softly enough that Madame Pince wouldn't come over. This was bad. Very bad.

* * *

Draco told Harry about Pansy's impending blackmail scheme the next day at Harry's check up appointment. "What's scary is that she has no idea just how much I want her insinuations to be true. And she's right. If my mother catches wind of something like that, she may very well try to assassinate you herself, orders or no orders. Voldemort would punish her for it, but she'd think it was worth it." 

"Damn. Any idea what she's going to ask for?" 

He shook his head. "No. She's not one to hold on to a card for too long, though. She gets impatient very easily." He sighed. "We'll know soon enough." 

"I don't like this. You're in a lot more danger now." 

"I know. But what can we do that we haven't all ready done?" 

Harry thought hard about it. "I think we should talk to Dumbledore. He might be able to help us, at least somewhat. If anything, we can warn him against your mother." 

Draco sighed and looked at his shoes. "I wish she wasn't such a prejudiced wench." 

"That's not your fault, Draco. You know that." The paler man said nothing. "Draco?" 

"I can't help but be ashamed of my family right now. Both my parents bow down to that insane Mudblood like mindless animals, and then Mother has the gall to believe that I'm dishonoring the family name! Right now I hate that name. I hate the fact that I'm the only one who has the guts to stand up for what's right and the intelligence to know that what's in my best interests isn't the most important thing in the world! Right now the only thing good about the name Malfoy is that you've given it to our son." 

Harry knew that they were as secure as they could get while they were in the infirmary, so he allowed himself to follow his impulses rather than squash them and drew Draco into his arms, embracing him gently. He was in an oddly lyrical mood, and he found himself opening his mouth. " 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Malfoy. What's a Malfoy? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Draco would, were he not Draco call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Draco, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself.'" 

Draco chuckled at Harry's whimsy. "Shakespeare? And I'd still be a Slytherin." 

Harry smiled. "Maybe not. I had an argument with the Sorting Hat, did you know that? It wanted to put me into Slytherin, but I begged it not to. If I hadn't heard from the moment I learned about the wizarding world just how bad Slytherin House was supposed to be, I might not have put up that fight. I was choosing to be against what I thought Slytherin stood for at the time, but being in Slytherin doesn't automatically make you a dark wizard. You and Snape are both proof of that. And there's nothing wrong with Shakespeare." 

Draco shook his head, still grinning, and stepped back. "Only you, Harry Potter. Only you could come up with that quote at the perfect moment." 

"That's me! Perfect!" Draco laughed out loud and grabbed the pillow off the cot. Then he swung it at Harry, smacking the darker youth on the head starting a pillow fight which lasted until Madame Pomfrey came in and found the both of them covered with feathers and yelled at them to clean it up, which they did by hand, still laughing the entire time.

* * *

Harry and Draco talked to Dumbledore the very next morning. They gave him the letters that Narcissa had been sending. He promised that they were safe at Hogwarts and that he would be wary of her. For Harry, that wasn't enough. "Headmaster, that's what you've always told me, but things have a habit of happening here anyway, don't they, especially when it concerns me and those I care about." 

"Harry--" 

"No. No platitudes. I know that Hogwarts has the strongest wards in the country, but they _can be breached_. It's been done before, by Quirrel, by Riddle's diary, by Crouch, hell even by Sirius back when you thought he was the murderer he'd been accused of being. And Narcissa Malfoy is a very cunning and capable witch. Lucius wouldn't have married her otherwise, no matter her bloodline." 

Dumbledore sighed. "You're right, of course. Very well. I will be wary of Mrs. Malfoy. And I think I'll see about some separate quarters for the both of you, and soon. It should get you out of the way of those in this school who would harm you." 

Draco said, "Thank you, Headmaster." 

Harry thanked him as well and they left his office. Once they were out of earshot, Draco whispered to Harry, "So, do you think he'll do as he's said?" 

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but something had better change, and soon. My son means the world to me, Draco." He paused and looked up into the blonde youth's eyes. "And so does his father. I don't want anything to happen to either of them." 

Draco just smiled.

* * *

_As always, review please! _


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. _

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed past ones. This one is a bit long, but I think you won't mind. Also, I'm having internet troubles with my homepage, something being wrong with the Java settings or something and the computer won't use Geocities Pagebuilder. Any help would be appreciated, since I haven't been able to update the site in a while.

* * *

A week later, Draco woke in his dorm room to hands on his chest. He was a bit confused at first, and thought it might be a dream of Harry, but he soon woke enough to realize that Harry would never wear the feminine, rosy scent that was assaulting his nasal passages. His eyes snapped open and he first shoved the person off himself and then flung himself off the side of his bed which wasn't blocked by a female body, snagging his wand off the dresser as he rolled. He stood in nothing but his boxers, but his wand was at the ready and he was prepared to deal with whatever he found. 

What he found was Pansy Parkinson sprawled in the floor where he'd dumped her. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Parkinson!?" 

Looking very disgruntled, she pouted, "Well I was trying to be nice about it. I didn't realize you were so hair triggered." 

Draco snorted. "Obviously not hair triggered enough if you managed to get that close to me. How did you get past my wards and nice about what?" Although he could take a guess, he wanted her to say it. 

"This is what I want, Draco. This is the price of my silence. I want you to be with me and I want you to marry me. And how I got past your wards is my business." 

Draco shook his head. "You know, I'd have thought you could be a little more imaginative than this. Pretend for a moment that I could actually be intimidated by your threats. You'd waste a perfectly good blackmail scheme on sex?" 

"Oh, Draco, give me a little more credit than that. I want the sex, yes. You're hot and I doubt you'll deny it. But I want you to marry me, Draco. I want the Malfoy name and the Malfoy vaults. I want the prestige of having netted the most eligible bachelor in Slytherin. And I want to know what the hell happened to Potter, information that you seem to be the only person, outside his little circle of sycophants, in possession of." 

"Oh, poor little Pansy can't figure out the mystery on her own? Well too bloody bad for you. Get out of my room, Parkinson. And if you ever lay a hand on me again, be prepared to part with it." 

"I'll tell her. I'll tell your mother that you're screwing Potter." 

Draco had to stifle his automatic response. _I wish._ "Go ahead. You think she'll believe you with a tale like that, go right ahead. I can hear her laughing right now." 

Pansy got up off the floor and walked out of the room in a huff. Draco shook his head and lowered his wand. How had that creature gotten past the wards on his bed? He put his wand up again and shouted "_Revellio!_" The wards should have shown a brilliant aquamarine shot through with a golden grid structure. Instead the shield spell lay in a quivering ball in the corner between the bed and the wall, a sickly yellow green mass of gelatin. Shaking his head, he said, "_Finite Incantatum._" The destroyed shield wards melted into the floor and dissipated. Draco got the uncomfortable feeling of having just put down a mortally wounded animal.

* * *

Harry was livid when Draco told him about Parkinson's attempted assault, and he was afraid of how easily she had gotten that close to him. Draco was becoming a target, and, it would seem, an accessible one. Draco calmed him down, but only by reminding him that they had contingency plans already in place. They went to Dumbledore immediately and by the next day Draco was ensconced in his new room outside the Slytherin dungeons. Harry helped him move in, taking the time to teach him some of the stronger warding spells he knew. He couldn't do them himself because of the baby, but Draco picked them up easily and cast them around the room. 

Snape made certain to escort Draco when he removed his belongings out of the sixth year Slytherin dorms, preventing any "accidents" from befalling the blonde Slytherin. No one said a word to him, knowing that Snape wouldn't take it kindly, but the atmosphere in the common room had dropped to below zero. Pansy had made certain that everyone knew that Draco was betraying his house. Before he left the room for the last time, he turned around and addressed his housemates. "I know that you believe I betray Slytherin. If it were true, you would be within your rights to shun me like this. I am still proud to be a member of this house, and I am appalled that none of you took it upon yourselves to discover the truth. You just believe anything a shrew tells you. Salazar would be disappointed. His house is meant to hold the cunning, not the follower. They go to Hufflepuff. I truly hope you all grow a spine in my absence." With that, he turned and left. 

There was a tense atmosphere in the following week, as Harry and Draco waited for the other shoe to drop. In the meanwhile, Harry showed Draco what he had learned of spell weaving. Draco practiced and discovered that he could do spells at full wand strength using the same technique. He had discovered the key to wandless magic, something that many wizards had to train for years to achieve. Most didn't even bother. It was easier to use the wand to focus your energy than to learn to do it yourself. But in a battle situation, and they knew that was what they were facing, a wand could be lost or destroyed. Wandless magic would be an invaluable tool in the coming fight. 

Then, the inevitable happened. Pansy cornered Draco in a hallway on his way to classes one day. "Last chance, Malfoy." 

He growled at her. "Go to Hell, Parkinson!" Then he pushed past her and went on his way. 

Two days later, Draco received an owl from his mother. 

_Draco, _

Miss Parkinson has once again warned me that you are becoming far to close to the Potter boy. She states that not only are you being friendly with him, but that it might be even more that mere friendship. I sincerely hope that you have an explanation for this, Draco. If this is merely for pleasure, then please find it somewhere else. I do not care that he is male; there are ways to get around that problem and still produce an heir. But he is our enemy, and your consorting with him will be seen as a betrayal. And if it is more, I warn you that I will not be lenient. If you choose to betray our Friend, then you will have the same fate as the boy. I cannot and will not protect you from it. I love you, son, but there are some things I will not countenance. 

Please tell me what is going on. 

Narcissa Malfoy 

Before even telling Harry, Draco knew that he needed to respond to this and quickly. He grabbed a sheet of parchment and his quill and ink out of his book bag and quickly set down a response. 

_Mother, _

I am appalled. I am absolutely horrified that you would believe that conniving wench! She assaulted me in my bed chambers, Mother, tried to blackmail me into marrying her and giving her the key to our vaults by tattling to you about this fictional farce of a relationship that she's invented in her mind. I assure you that I am not in any kind of relationship with Harry Potter. The wench has turned half of Slytherin against me with her sordid rumor mongering, and she hasn't even told them this particular incarnation of her insanity. She will ruin every plan I ever had for this house, just because I refuse to sleep with her. 

I have to figure this out. I've already given the entire house a dressing down for believing what she tells them without proof. I just don't know if enough of them are smart enough to see what she's doing. Honestly, so many of them are only good as wand fodder. But if I convince the more intelligent ones, then the thugs will follow. It's going to take some doing, especially as some of them shoot first and ask questions later, but I'll figure something out. 

Please don't listen to Parkinson, Mother. And if you even suggest I marry her just to shut her up, I'll strangle the both of you! 

Draco Malfoy 

Draco quickly rolled the letter and sealed it, then ran flat out for the owlery. He went to the biggest owl there, a marvelous eagle owl, and tied the letter to it's leg. "Take this to Narcissa Malfoy at Malfoy Manor as fast as your wings can carry you. This is life or death!" The bird nodded, then leapt off his perch and winged his way out of the owlery.

* * *

"I'm worried. She's my mother, and she knows me pretty well. I'm afraid she'll see right through that letter. And we still don't know how Parkinson breached my wards. Those wards used the same spells as the Primaries on Hogwarts. If a sixth year could breach them..." 

"No sixth year could breach the Primaries. I've seen them. Of all the students at Hogwarts, you and I are the only ones with sufficient strength to even go near them. Parkinson wouldn't stand a chance." 

"Maybe not. But where do you think she got the breaching spells in the first place? Her parents are both Death Eaters, and that tells me that they have the spells to breach the wards. The danger is closer than anyone else realizes." 

Harry sighed. "You're right. How closely have you been paying attention in Defense? I'm sure you could put up stronger personal shields than the Primary. It's not really meant for such a small target as a person." 

Draco shook his head. "I don't know. How can you make any shield stronger without draining yourself to do it?" 

"Layer them. Several weaker shields put together will make a stronger overall protection than a single shield with every ounce of your power thrown into it. They'll brace and support each other. And angle them away from you rather than letting them take the brunt of the assault head on. Have you ever skipped stones across a pond? Instead of sinking in, the force is deflected away." 

Draco gaped at the other teen. That could work! "Where do you come up with this stuff?" 

Harry chuckled. "You aren't going to believe me." Draco just looked at him. "All right. There's a show I'd watch at the Dursleys when I could get a gander at the tele. It's an American show called 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. The space ships on the show have energy shields to protect against energy weapons. Same basic concept as wards and curses, but they're pure energy. One of the shields is the deflector shield, and it deflects the energy away from the ship rather than trying to absorb it. It's not magic, and neither can Muggles actually do any of it yet, but the concept's sound." 

Draco shook his head. "It's amazing just how many Muggle concepts are starting to feature in our defenses." 

"Just because they can't use and don't understand magic doesn't mean they don't think about things, and it doesn't make them inferior. They can do a lot more than we can in some cases. You really ought to take Muggle Studies next year. I think it'd be a real eye opener for you." 

"I might just do that."

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy boldly walked the corridors of Hogwarts, not even attempting to hide her presence. She moved quickly, knowing that she might not have much time. She had grown up with Lucius Malfoy, and Draco was still very much like his father, especially when he was lying to her. And she had seen right through his lies. 

Oh, Narcissa had no doubt that Parkinson was a vindictive wench and was very likely indeed to spread a story like that just out of spite, true or not. But Draco protested too vehemently, acting all hurt that she would even suggest such a thing. Had it truly been false, he would have laughed at her. 

And the reason she had lied to him was, whether Pansy was aware of it or not, Draco actually was in a relationship with Potter, or else dearly wished it so. Potter had corrupted her son, and for that he would die. Then she would work on reclaiming her son. 

Suddenly she was stopped in the hallway by that meddling old fool, Dumbledore. "Good evening, Narcissa. How are you?" 

Keeping the sneer off her face and out of her voice, though it desperately wanted to come out and play, she said, "Oh, I'm quite well, thank you, Headmaster. I'm just on my way to see Draco. An important issue has come up and I needed to speak with him immediately." 

"Now, Narcissa, surely a firecall would have sufficed? I'm afraid that it is still against the policies of this school to allow parents on the premises unless they hold some office and have official business here. The whole point of a boarding school is to give the children some freedom to explore themselves without their parents hovering out of a desire to keep them safe from the world. That can't happen if the parents were free to come through at any time." 

Blast it! She had forgotten about that damned policy. Well, she had already planted the charm. She would simply have to owl Pansy and tell her to activate the thing once she had Voldemort's approval. "Very well, Headmaster, I'll leave, but I think I will be owling the Governors about getting that little nonsense changed." Then she turned and stalked away.

* * *

Two weeks passed before anything came of Narcissa's machinations, two weeks of the young men worrying about what she was going to do. Harry and Draco never went anywhere on their own, fearing what would happen. Harry sent the Clone everywhere but Defense class, even to the point of sending it along with his friends to Hogsmede on the weekends. They understood, and it allowed Harry to still have some fun. Harry's wand stayed with him outside of classes, some niggling worry not liking the thing to be out of his sight. 

And that turned out to be a very good thing as things turned out. 

Harry was laughing at some joke that Ron had made when all hell broke loose. One moment the street was bustling with teenagers, and the next it was alight with hexes and full of Death Eaters. The Dark Mark hung in the sky to strike fear into people's hearts and wizards and witches fell dead or injured by the wayside. Once Harry was spotted, he ran, getting his Cloned body as far away from Ron and Hermione as he could. He didn't get very far before the curse struck him from the back. And just because Harry's real body wasn't the one hit, it didn't mean that he wasn't affected by the curse. He blacked out. 

When next he awoke, Harry realized he was back in the Gryffindor sixth-year dorms. He quickly reestablished his connection to the Clone, hoping that no one had yet realized that the thing was a fake. The Cloned body was in severe pain, but Harry gritted his teeth through it and opened his eyes, trying to see where he was. 

And immediately wished that he hadn't. He recognized this place from his worst Voldemort-induced visions. It was the Riddle house, the large dining room that he held his most important meetings in. The building had, of course, been rendered Unplottable, but Draco had been there exactly once, and he had given the secret to Dumbledore already. Not that it would help now. There was no way that they would be able to get here in time. 

Voldemort came into his view, kneeling down to look into his eyes. "Very good work, Mr. Potter. I've never seen a Clone pod this complete before." Harry glared at him, but said nothing. "I suppose you're safely ensconced in your dormitory at Hogwarts. But still, you might want to stick around for this." He stood and turned to the door of the dining room, which opened at his command. Several Death Eaters and Narcissa Malfoy walked into the room. They were all the same ones who had been at Hogsmede. "You all thought you'd take the initiative and bring me Harry Potter on a silver platter. But you didn't consult me. If you had been successful, then I would have been pleased and overlooked this as a bit of over zealousness, but none of you thought to make sure that you had the right person. Every single one of you made assumptions on what your eyes were telling you and didn't think to perform a simple Verification Charm." With a wave of Voldemort's wand, Harry's shirt was ripped from his body, revealing the green stem that was there in place of his navel. "A Clone. An excellent example of one, but it could easily have been revealed if even one of you had stopped to think!" 

Voldemort paced in front of them. "Each of you failed me tonight." He rounded on Narcissa. "_Crucio_!" The curse ripped through Narcissa and through Harry's scar, causing three bodies to flail in pain. He went through each of the men cowering in the room, casting the Cruciatus a total of eight times, and each one struck not only its intended victim but Harry and the Clone as well. And Voldemort knew it, was using his punishment of his followers to torture Harry. 

Then he turned to the Boy-Who-Lived. "And now to get rid of this loathsome thing. _Avada_--" Before he could finish the Killing Curse, Harry gathered his wits about him and pulled himself free of the Clone. He couldn't be there when the Clone was killed or he'd die right along with it. And he managed it. But that didn't keep it from hurting like hell and splitting his scar wide open. Thankfully, Harry passed out.

* * *

_Well, there it is! Review, please!_


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